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Tokyo Metro 6000 series
The 6000 series is a Japanese city commuter electric multiple unit. Built from 1968 to 1990 for the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (now known as Tokyo Metro), the 6000 series sets were used on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line from 1971 until their eventual retirement in 2018 after close to 50 years of service. History The 6000 series was conceived in 1968 as a train that would allow for easy maintenance, have the latest technology and have a long lifespan. The sets would adopt some of the latest technology of the time, such as bodies made out of an aluminum alloy and thyristor chopper-based traction motors. The first set, three-car set 6001, was delivered in April 1968 and tested on the TRTA Chiyoda Line; the set never actually entered revenue service. The second set, six-car set 6101, was delivered in August 1969 based on set 6001 and entered service in March 1971; full-production sets were later put into service progressively. When the TRTA was dissolved in 2004, ownership of the sets was handed over to Tokyo Metro. The sets were also used for through-running through to and from the Odakyu Odawara Lines and JR East's Jōban Line in addition to normal service on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line. With the introduction of the 16000 series sets in 2010 and Tokyo Metro announcing that the rolling stock on the Chiyoda Line would be standardized to just 16000 series sets a few years later, the 6000 series sets were rapidly retired from service starting in 2010. Starting in September 2011, a total of 26 sets were transferred to the KRL Jabodetabek in Indonesia, where they see service today. As of 2018, the 6000 series sets have reached the end of their service life, with only two sets (6102 and 6130) in operation with Tokyo Metro as of October 2018; the sets were withdrawn from regular operations on 5 October and were officially retired on 11 November with a few special final runs. To celebrate their removal from regular operations, stickers with the old Eidan logo were stuck over the Tokyo Metro logo as a callback; these stickers appear to have been removed. Design The 6000 series use a fairly modern design for the time with an unpainted body made of an extruded aluminum alloy. Specifications Construction is of an extruded aluminum alloy. End cars are 20 meters long, 2.8 meters wide and 4.135 meters high. Prototype set 6001 used a thyristor chopper-based traction control system in an effort to put the thyristor chopper-based traction system into practical use. Later sets adopted a very similar system, with Mitsubishi and Hitachi providing the thyristor chopper systems; those produced a low drone when the train accelerated from idle. Even later sets used a gate turn-off thyristor-based chopper control system which sounded quite similar to the above systems, except for a pitch change. Starting in the 1990s, most older sets received "Type B" refurbishment; improvements included the addition of automatic station broadcasting systems, addition of wheelchair spaces and the changing of the roller blind-type destination indicators to three-color LED indicators among other improvements. Another notable improvement was the changing of the chopper control systems to variable frequency drives; the drives were manufactured by Mitsubishi or Hitachi in two- or three-level formats. All variable frequency drives supplied were insulated gate bipolar transistor-based drives. Two-level Hitachi drives produce a loud hissing sound, three-level Hitachi drives produce a melodic wail, two-level Mitsubishi drives produce a subdued hissing sound and three-level Mitsubishi drives produce a rather unique cadence that sounds oddly like an older GTO inverter. Newer sets received "Type C" refurbishment which was much smaller in scale, where work was done mainly to paintwork and interior work and modifications to body construction. References *Wikipedia.org Category:Tokyo Metro trains Category:TRTA trains Category:Electric Trainsets Category:Kawasaki locomotives Category:Kinki Sharyo locomotives Category:Kisha Seizō locomotives Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives Category:Tokyu Car locomotives